Welcome Home
by WiselyWritten
Summary: Wind-blown and dusted in smatterings of snow. This is what she sees of him as he stands in the doorway of the Goldstein apartment a whole six months later. His eyes are soft and kind, his reddish-brown hair is darker with the melting snow, the skin of his hands are calloused, freckled and sun-kissed and his smile is awkward and clumsy - and he's just Newt. {Newtina one-shot}


Welcome Home

Wind-blown and dusted in smatterings of snow. This is what she sees of him as he stands in the doorway of the Goldstein apartment a whole six months later. His eyes are soft and kind, his reddish-brown hair is darker with the melting snow, the skin of his hands are calloused, freckled and sun-kissed and his smile is awkward and clumsy - _and he's just Newt_ , Tina thinks. Clutched in his hands is the first copy of _Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them_ , in all its red leather glory and gold embossed writing. Newt shuffles awkwardly from foot to foot and it reminds Tina of his being socially inept, but then again he's the sweetest person she's ever met. How could one be so unaccustomed to social life, but when given leeway to talk of things they love most will comfortably do so with so little effort and so much love in their eyes? She hardly cared for the answer, she was just glad that she got to see such affection in Newt's eyes so often when he talked of his creatures. Realizing that she had said absolutely nothing upon his arrival, Tina met his eyes nervously.

"You're back?" She hoped she didn't sound quite as desperate as she thought she did, letting him into the apartment as she closed the door. He patted the snow from his dampening hair and gave her a lopsided grin.

"I am." He confirmed as Tina played with the fraying hem of her shirt sleeve, arms crossed over her mid-section. She glanced down at her feet.

"For how long?" Newt cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head.

"As long as I can." He let out quietly, pink tinting the tips of his ears. Tina felt a small, fond smile grace her lips as she looked up at him. Newt scrambled to hand her the book and she took it from his hands gratefully, his fingertips brushing hers as her heart skipped a beat. "The first copy," he mumbled. "as promised." Tina ran her fingers over the golden lettering and the leather bound cover, smiling. He had really done it. She flipped through a few pages and scanned several paragraphs before closing the book and looking at Newt who was shifting his weight around clumsily, looking at her with such unabashed hope that Tina grinned at him.

"Thank you, Newt. It's wonderful." He took a step closer to her, eyes alight.

"Really?" She could hear the wind picking up outside and the lights flicker on in the darkening city in the silence where, out of the two of them, all she heard otherwise was their breathing. Tina nodded and hugged the book close to her chest.

"Truly," she took a small step towards him. "I'm so proud of you, Newt." She could feel the tears prickling in her eyes as her heart clenched and she made haste to wipe them away. But, before she could do so, Newt was lifting the book from her arms and setting it aside, cupping her face gently and running his thumbs along her cheeks, catching the falling tears as he took another step towards her.

"Why are you crying, Tina?" It was stupid, it really was. Maybe it was just the stress of work or the late hour or the countless restless nights, but she just wanted him close to her. Despite her better judgement and thoughts that this was not at all like her, Tina wound her arms around Newt's middle and buried her face into his familiar blue coat, breathing in the smell of him; sunshine and beasts and leather. Newt, slightly taken aback, paused for a moment before wrapping his arms around her in a comforting manner and peering down at her crown of brown hair, his cheeks flushing adorably. "Tina?" She wasn't sobbing, that he took as a good sign, but the way she sniffled every so often provided him with the knowledge that she was still crying.

"I- I missed you." She croaked out and his heart tightened in his chest. "I know it's stupid, I barely even know you... but I missed you so much, Newt... _too much_." Newt buried his nose in her shoulder and took a breath in.

"I missed you as well." He whispered. Tina's hands tightened on the back of his coat as his cheek brushed against hers. "Every day." His face was flushed an alarming shade of red now and Tina slipped a hand from his waist to cup his cheek, her thumb dancing up and down his cheekbone as she pulled back slightly to meet his eyes. They watched each other for a long while, blue boring into brown as Newt's hands settled on the small of her back and one of Tina's still cupped his face while the other remained clutching at the back of his blue coat. "Tina?"

"Hmm?" He was staring at her so fondly that it almost made her worried. But, then again, she was more worried about how fondly _she_ was staring at _him_. His nose pressed against hers gently as he pulled her closer by the small of her back. His cheeks were positively burning.

"May I kiss you?" She didn't answer him but instead pressed her lips timidly to his. He pulled back slowly, momentarily dazed, before leaning back in for another kiss, more confident this time as Tina's arms wound around his shoulders and tugged him closer. He loved every lingering second of it; the feel of her back fitting so perfectly into his palms, her fingers winding loosely through his mess of hair, her lips parting under his. It was so unlike him to feel such things and yet he didn't really feel out of place. He felt perfectly content. _At home_. Tina pulled back slightly, cheeks rosy and breathing slightly out of its usual rhythm, her eyes finding Newt's as she smiled. She gave a breathless laugh at his parted lips and smiling blue eyes and hugged him close.

"Welcome home, Newt." And it felt more like home than anything had before.


End file.
